A connector device has conventionally been proposed that has a mechanism for detecting whether terminals are normally housed in terminal housing chambers of the connector or not (specifically, the presence or absence of a halfway inserted state of the terminals) and more ensuring the prevention of coming-off of the normally housed terminals. For example, a connector of a back-ground art (hereinafter, referred to as back-ground art connector) is provided with a housing having terminal housing chambers and a front holder attached to the housing from the front side of the housing (for example, see JP-A-2011-108576).
In the back-ground art connector device, when the terminals are not normally housed in the terminal housing chambers (the terminals are in the halfway inserted state), the terminals push out lances of a cantilever in the housing, whereby the lances are in a state of being bent so as to enter the space where a double locking portion of the front holder is inserted. For this reason, the front holder cannot be inserted up to a regular locking position. By using this, the presence or absence of the halfway inserted state of the terminals is detected.
Further, in the back-ground art connector, in the state where the terminals are normally housed in the terminal housing chambers and the front holder is attached to the regular locking position, the double locking portion of the front holder pushes the lances in toward the terminals. For this reason, a double locking state is obtained where the lances lock the terminals and the double locking portion of the front holder locks the lances (in a regular position where the coming-off prevention function is fulfilled).
By this double locking, the prevention of coming-off of the terminals normally housed in the terminal housing chambers is more ensured.
In the back-ground art connector, when the terminals are in the halfway inserted state, since the front holder cannot be inserted up to the regular locking position, the front end surface of the front holder is normally in a state of protruding from the front end surface of the housing. However, because of variations in the dimensional accuracy and the like of the female housing and the front holder, even though the terminals are in the halfway inserted state, there are cases where the front holder can move to a position close to the regular locking position. In these cases, although the female terminals are in the halfway inserted state, there is a possibility that the front end surface of the front holder appears not to protrude from the front end surface of the housing. As a result, there is a possibility that the worker does not notice the halfway inserted state of the terminals.
When the terminals are in the halfway inserted state, there is a possibility that when the connectors are fitted, a position shift or the like of the terminals occurs and this makes the electrical connection between the connectors insufficient. Therefore, from the viewpoint of the reliability of the electric connection, it is desirable that the halfway insertion of the terminals is detected as surely as possible.
The present invention is made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a connector device capable of detecting the halfway insertion of the terminals as surely as possible.